Revenues generated by independent healthcare providers stood at steady at £40.5bn in 2012/13 (2011/12: £39.9bn) but should slowly grow LaingBuisson has found.
The market analyst's 2013-2014 annual Healthcare Market Review calculates that there have been some gainers and some losers.
The total of £40bn is not significantly different from last year, reflecting subdued private spending out of disposable income and budget constraints amongst NHS and council purchasers of health and care services.
William Laing CEO of LaingBuisson said: "Private demand for hospital treatment has been flat for five years, and private demand for care homes for older people has only kept growing because of the expanding older population and because private payers fund long term care out of assets rather than disposable income.
"Looking forward, LaingBuisson believes that the better economic news of the last few months will - if continued - boost private spending on healthcare again, though past experience shows that there is often a lag, so it may not be until the end of 2014 that we see evidence of increased private spending on healthcare."
UK independent healthcare market value by sub-sector and value of services 2012/2013
Private acute medical care £6.7bn
Care Homes: older/physically disabled £13.4bn
Care Homes: learning disabilities/mental illness £3.1bn
Homecare (all client types) £5.9bn
Mental health hospitals £1.1bn
Children's homes (England only) £0.7bn
Foster care (England only) £0.7bn
Specialist educational needs (England only) £1.2bn
Primary care dentistry
(dentists with NHS practices counted as 'independent') £5.7bn
Primary medical care (England only) £0.7bn
Commercial occupational health services £0.25bn
Community health services £1.0bn
Total £40.5bn
